


Fly High

by forestofsecrets



Series: Birds of a Feather [5]
Category: Uta no Prince-sama
Genre: Birds, Communication, Gen, the long awaited finale of the series
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-18
Updated: 2020-01-18
Packaged: 2021-02-25 15:13:43
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,216
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22298029
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/forestofsecrets/pseuds/forestofsecrets
Summary: Ai talks to Natsuki about birds, a conversation long overdue.
Series: Birds of a Feather [5]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1513085
Comments: 2
Kudos: 20





	Fly High

**Author's Note:**

> This is the final story for this series! It wasn't really supposed to get this long but I have enjoyed writing every interval along the way. Ai has come a long way since the start. Chirp Chirp was also the story that got me started with writing Utapri fanfiction so I suppose it deserves a fond nod and subsequent farewell.
> 
> Thank you to everyone who has followed the series! Endings can be tough but I hope I have provided a satisfying ending...? Aha, feel free to let me know if anyone has any thoughts about it!
> 
> Made on 1/17/2020.

Ai needed to talk to Natsuki. 

There was no way to avoid it at this point. Ai had tried so many things by now that it was getting to be more frustrating than fun. While he believed in remaining steadfast, there was a difference between testing out different hypothesis and banging his head against a wall. It felt like the latter with every failed experiment. 

He just didn’t understand. Perhaps he was taking it too seriously? Was it honestly not that big of a deal? But it wasn’t in Ai’s nature to simply let it go. It was something he wasn’t knowledgeable about so he had an insatiable need to know, to understand. 

Tracking Natsuki down was relatively easy. Whenever the blond had a free evening, he’d spend his winter nights bundled up outdoors, taking advantage of the early nightfall to gaze at the stars. Natsuki would wander the trails and often stay out late, losing track of time. It wasn’t the first time that Ai set out to bring the grazing sheep back home but it was the first time he set out with such express purpose.

“Natsuki.” Ai announced his presence by calling out, as Natsuki was known to get too absorbed in his stargazing to notice his surroundings on occasion. There was a chill in the air, the sun already having long set, and Ai fluffed the scarf he had wrapped around himself before setting out.

It took a second call of his name to break Natsuki out of his thoughts. “Hm? Ah, good evening. Has it gotten that late already?” 

Ai took a moment to analyze Natsuki’s state of mind. The blond had clear eyes and a soft smile, indicating that he was in the mood for company. In the past, Natsuki pointed out his favourite constellations while Ai listened silently. But now wasn’t the time for that. Walking up to him, Ai skipped all pretense and outright asked the question that he came here to ask. 

“How do you talk to birds?” Ai phrased it straight to the point. He was open with his body language and hoped for a concrete answer. This question has plagued him through the seasons and while humans were an infinitely more fascinating subject of study, he couldn’t handle not being able to answer the question that initially spawned his research. 

A look of surprise came over Natsuki’s face, he seemed stunned over receiving such a direct question though he was long used to Ai’s quirks. But he quickly recovered, face smoothing out and the corners of his lips turned up in a smile. “I just watch and listen.”

Coming to stand beside him, Ai tipped his head back to look at the sky. The intermittent clouds blocked the distant sources of light, carving chunks out of the night sky. Ai tried to contain his huff. Watching and listening was exactly what he had been doing for weeks. He has collected a bird watcher’s dream album of close shots and detailed notes but it didn’t tell him what he wanted to know. 

“Is there nothing else?” It was more to himself than to Natsuki, Ai couldn’t help murmuring the words. “What have I been missing?” His innermost thoughts felt like they could be spoken in the silence of the night. The moon had that sort of pull, making someone feel oddly illuminated and comforted in its light. 

“Maybe…” Natsuki breathed the word and paused, Ai could only assume that he was trying to get his thoughts in order. Both of them were staring upwards at the sky, unmoving since they met. “Maybe you’ve been trying too hard. You’re such a hard worker but the birdies don’t need complicated things.”

Did Natsuki cushion his words on purpose? Ai knew firsthand how insightful the other man could be but when it was applied to himself, it was still astonishing. It was true that Ai pulled out all the stops with a feeder and camera but they seemed like the right moves at the time. He didn’t regret them but still felt like he was missing a piece.

Ai’s gears were starting to turn in his head. “But I used things they should like.” Offering food to wild animals was almost a guaranteed success no matter what the species was. Food beat everything else out in the animal kingdom. “What could be missing? I’ve researched techniques for attracting birds and I have conducted experiments that were successful in bringing them close. What else is there?”

“Where were you when you did those experiments?” Natsuki turned his attention to Ai, making Ai look up at him. His breath came out as a puff, warming the air. The cloud dissipated swiftly, fading into the background. 

Ai didn’t understand, again. “I was inside. Why does that matter?” To him, it shouldn’t matter where he was as long as he could see then. Even then, he set up a camera to watch when he wasn’t able to be physically present. 

The wind picked up. It was actively blowing high above their heads, no proof other than the movement of the clouds so rapidly across the night sky that the naked eye could pick it up. A noticeable shiver passed through Natsuki, who was out with a coat. Wearing a coat and a scarf himself, Ai suppressed any reaction.

Green eyes were shining by the light of the moon. “You need to see them and they need to see you.” It was advice given gently. “You need to get out with them.” This was stressed, as if physical contact was the key in making a connection.

Would it make a difference, Ai could only wonder? He remained still, watching Natsuki. His junior turned his gaze back on the moon, which managed to avoid the bypassing clouds to hover in the sky. Then, Natsuki motioned to Ai’s shoulder. “Just like this.” 

At first, Ai didn’t know what Natsuki was making referencing to. But a light weight told him all he needed to know. He moved his head ever so slightly to the side, using his peripheral vision to observe the little bird that was currently using his shoulder for a perch. The bird stared back, its black eyes constantly on the lookout. 

A bird. Ai had somehow, against all odds, attracted a bird. He didn’t even need to break out the courting displays that he had read all about during mating season. Just like that, in the blink of an eye, a bird landed on him. There was no peanut butter, no feed, no camera, nothing. Just like that, the creature managed to surprise him. 

Ai took a shallow breath, not wanting to do so much as to breathe too loudly in risk of scaring it off. Birds are flighty and this one was lowering and raising its head repeatedly to give Ai a better look. Its talons gripped the outer shell of Ai’s jacket, thick enough to protect the flesh of his shoulder. 

A tranquility rose within Ai. Here he was, under the moon with a bird on his shoulder. What felt like minutes must have been only seconds and Ai realized how rude he was being. With the newcomer, there was only one thing to do.

“Hello.” 

He received two chirps in response.

**Author's Note:**

> This series is definitely over but if I had to write another instalment, it would be Ai trying to court a female bird. I just had to write in a little reference to what could have been...
> 
> Now with this wrapped up, I am free to post the three stories that managed to make me pay attention to them long enough to write before picking up my longer ones. Let's see if I have the patience to spread them out and not just upload them all at once.


End file.
